Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq expressed his serious resentment and concern over the authorities’ approach of depriving the people of Kashmir from the basic amenities especially drinking water and electricity in this intensely cold bone-chilling weather stating that it seems that administration wants to punish the people of Valley collectively.Addressing Friday gathering at the historic Jama Masjid, Mirwaiz said that one hand, forces have unleashed a reign of terror across south Kashmir by launching frequent CASOs where in people of all ages including elderly, women and children are asked to stay out of their house in the biting cold for hours together, youth are harassed and homes vandalised, and on the other, people are being deprived of all the basic amenities needed at a time when temperature has plummeted to minus 8 degrees Celsius. This way, people are subjected to collective punishment. He demanded an immediate end to these operations.Mirwaiz said that it was beyond doubt that people be it traders, employees, and the business community pay taxes and electricity dues not in lakhs but in crores and that our state was enriched with the natural resources producing huge amount of electricity and yet Kashmir is deprived of this much needed facility at a time when people need it the most. In a statement to Valley Media Service, he said the State has a huge potential of producing 20,000 megawatts of electricity that can fetch Rs 60,000 Crore income but unfortunately, not even the 10 per cent of the resources we have aren’t, being explored with the result entire Kashmir is plunged in a deep crisis at the time of freezing temperatures.
Mirwaiz said that J&K is bestowed with the natural resources that belong to the people of the State but unfortunately, people of this ill-fated State are deprived of it just to make them economically weaker every day. The height is that where Kashmir shivers with the minus temperatures, GOI through its non-state actors like NHPC is in control of most of the existing power projects of the State and is exporting our power to States of India.Due to the minus low temperatures, Mirwaiz said a vast chunk of population in Srinagar is craving for the water and electricity while as in villages, situation is much worse. This reflects how much development Kashmir has been achieved over the past 70 years as claimed by the so-called successive rulers of Kashmir. He said that the year 2019 is about to start and the issue of providing uninterrupted water and electricity to the people remains a distant dream.Mirwaiz said that despite paying tax and the electricity fee in crores , why are people still kept away from the much needed electricity supply in the winter months. He said when people raise their voice against it and demand adequate power supply, they are thrashed.He said that while as resistance leadership and the people of Kashmir are fighting for the just cause on one hand, but we can’t turn a blind eye to the shortage of basic amenities.Mirwaiz urged all section of society to raise voice against the shortage of basic facilities especially water and electricity stating that people are well within their rights to demand this basic facility.Meanwhile, Mirwaiz paid glowing tributes to armed youth Ishfaq Ahmed Wani martyred while fighting government forces at Rinzipora, Awantipora stating that the repressive policies against youth are pushing the Kashmir’s young generation to wall. He said that resistance leadership and the people are committed to protect the sacrifices offered by the youth.(VMS)